Contrary to other notebooks from Hewlett Packard the Probook 4710 offers a simple functional design without textured high-gloss lids. This results in an elegant, but, plain look, which reminds on the HP Compaq nx family of earlier days. Nevertheless, the lid got a black (Noir) high-gloss finish.

Although the dark colors and the square edges of the closed laptop are far from being eye-catching, this notebook appears to be robust and compact at the first glance. However, appearances are deceptive.
Once the laptop is open, you'll notice that the upper side is divided in three parts. First of all, the innovative keyboard attracts attention by its single key layout and the glossy surface of the keyboard area. In contrary, the part in front of the keyboard got a matte surface. Nevertheless, it is equally prone to fingerprints and smudge as the glossy parts. The third part, above the keyboard, houses the loudspeakers, the power switch, and the HP QuickLook (Instant-On operating system) button and is completely designed as speaker grill.

Besides the non-uniform design, also the quality of the case does not completely meet our expectations. Lifting the base unit at the right corner or applying medium force there, you'll hear an annoying noise. The same is true for the central area of the loudspeaker grill. At least, the keyboard does not give too much. Quite the contrary, the pressure is more or less evenly spread, whereas the area of the F-G-H-keys springs most.

The display is adapted to the base unit by strong hinges, which are able to stably support the screen in any position. Even when typing energetically the screen does not luff. In return, the hinges are rather stiff. Nevertheless, they cannot completely prevent the notebook held upside down on the base unit from opening. Furthermore, you sometimes hear a frictional noise in the right hinge when changing the opening angle.

Unfortunately, HP did it without easily accessible maintenance openings. You won't even find a louver at the bottom side. It is only possible to insert and remove the battery there. Fortunately, this sits firmly and does not wobble.

The ProBook 4710 utilizes a relatively new Penryn processor, which is also used in some budget notebook, i.e, an Intel Core 2 Duo T6570. With its 2 MB L2-Chache and 800 MHz frontside bus it can offer a good application performance.

An ATI Mobility Radeon HD4330 is responsible for the graphics. This is a discrete, entry-level graphics card, which can cope well with not too demanding 3D-tasks. However, there are better solutions available for 3D-intensive applications or even current computer games. The built-in HD 4330 is only equipped with DDR2 memory as video memory. So, you have to accept a slightly lower graphical performance in favor of the price. Further informations regarding graphical performance is available in our article "Computer Games on Laptop Graphic cards" and in or "Mobile Graphic Cards - Benchmark List".

Two Gigabyte DDR2-800 RAM and a WD Scorpio Blue hard drive from Western Digital with a gross capacity of 250 Gigabyte complete the list of performance-relevant components.

System noise

In mains operation and with active energy saving profile, you'll just here a silent humming of 39dB(A) under low load. Increasing load, the 4710s can sometimes also get loud: For three to four minutes it blows warm air trough the louver and gets quiet again afterwards. In this kind the notebook's noise level raises and falls again and again.

A BIOS option allows to change the fan control. However, actually, we could not observe clear differences.

Furthermore, you can hear a the power adapter squeaking in very quiet environments. However, this will hardly be audible in everyday life.

Temperature

The maximum temperature of 40°C at the top was measure in the front middle area, just next to the touch pad, where the right hand rests. Fortunately, the temperature stays with 34.5 degrees Celsius in the green.

Due to a maximum of about 39 degrees Celsius, a use at the top of the lap is not recommended. However,  also weight and size of the 17-incher militate in favor of desk top use.

The CPU's temperature doesn't exceed 35°C in normal use. However, some really demanding games can force it to reach a maximum of 48-49°C. At the same time, the GPU gets a little bit hot at roughly 72 degrees Celsius. The HDD under load remains at about 48-49°C. Altogether these values explain the high surfaces temperatures pretty well. 

Basically HP wants to attract price-conscious business customers who appreciate reliability and functional design with the Probook 4710s. Its pros are an excellent keyboard and a very bright and evenly illuminated LED screen. Unfortunately the reviewed notebook was equipped with a glare-type (glossy) display. For many users this might be an important criterion against a permanent professional use. Fortunately HP also offers models with matte display.

Anyway, size and weight of this 17.3-incher hint on being designed for desk top usage. Furthermore, the temperature emissions advise against a use on the lap and the system noise is probably striking in quiet environments.

Its Core 2 Duo T6570 CPU and the ATI Mobility Rateaon HD 4330 graphics card provide a good performance for office applications and undemanding 3D tasks. Likewise you can be satisfied with the battery life.

Overall, the Probook 4710s proves to be an interesting bundle for not much money. However, because of the reflecting display, the test sample is rather an entry-level multimedia device. Performance and connectivity (HDMI) would also fit.